ABOUT US

Rationale

The UP Charter of 2008 (RA 9500) mandates that UP as the national university shall 1) “lead as a public service university by providing various forms of community, public and volunteer service, as well as scholarly and technical assistance to the government, the private sector, and civil society, while maintaining its standards of excellence”; 2) “harness the expertise of the members of its community and other individuals to regularly study the state of the nation in relation to its quest for national development in the primary area of politics and economics, among others identify key concerns and give advice and recommendations to Congress and the President of the Philippines,” and 3) “serve the Filipino nation and humanity” and “ relate its activities to the needs of the Filipino people and their aspirations for social progress and transformation.”

The “public service” role of the public HEIs cannot be over emphasized. All over the world, particularly publicly-funded HEIs are being called upon to promote and exercise social responsibility and civil engagement. At the international level networks such as Talloires Network (http:///www.tufts.edu/talloiresnetwork/) with its over 200 member-universities in 59 countries work for the strengthening of the civic roles and social responsibilities of higher education.

In Asia, the Asia-Talloires Network of Engaged University (ATNEU) and the ASEAN University Network on Universal Social Responsibility and Sustainability do community engagement to enhance the core business of a university – research, education and service. The University of the Philippines is an active member of these networks.

The “public service” role of the University of the Philippines is being undertaken by the constituent universities (CUs), individual to colleges in each CU, and specialized institutes and offices at the UP CU and UP system level through extension programs, volunteer programs such as Pahinungod, specialized studies and technical assistance undertaken as part of research activities or contracted services, or individual colleges in each CU, and specialized institutes and offices at the UP CU and UP system level through extension programs, volunteer programs such as Pahinungod, specialized studies and technical assistance undertaken as part of research activities or contracted services, or individual consultancy services by faculty members to the executive branch, judiciary, or Congress.

As a system however, UP’s “public service” role is not coordinated or strategically focused to achieve maximum impact. Neither is it efficiently projected or disseminated to the different “publics.” Former UP President Alfredo E. Pascual expressly noted this in his investiture speech – “much of our accomplishments, champions and experts are not recognized even among ourselves, the general public, and the world.”

Moreover, many of these accomplishments are not well documented, shared with other local universities and those in the Asian region or used as building blocks to develop new theories on community engagement, volunteerism, and community development.

One major reason for the failure of UP to exercise its public service role is the fact that there is no office in the current administrative structure of the UP system tasked to perform this function. While the over-all responsibility falls within the functions of the Vice-President for Public Affairs, the two offices under his jurisdiction deal with information management (System Information Office) and alumni relations (Office of Alumni Relations).

There is clearly a need to create a Public Service Office at the UP System level to address this problem.

The Padayon UP Public Service Office

The Office of the University of the President, with the approval of the Board of Regents, shall establish a public service office to be called Padayon UP that shall principally coordinate and mobilize the resources of the University to respond promptly and efficiently to the demands of public service and develop relevant networking and support from the different “publics” of the University.

Padayon is a Visayan word which means “to do promptly, hastily, unceasingly” as planned and as worked out. (Abuyen Dictionary, 2005) Since public service requires immediate response, efforts and initiatives toward public service will be ‘padayon’.

The Padayon UP shall:

Coordinate and monitor all public service modalities and volunteer programs throughout the UP System, help document the various public service activities of the University, and in cooperation with the UP System Information Office, disseminate these activities, programs and information to the UP community, other universities, policy makers, local governments, and the general public;

Assist CUs in initiating, implementing and evaluating public service initiatives toward developing a relevant, strategic, sustainable and systematic public service program consistent with the mandate of RA9500 and promotion of the One UP;

Review the conduct of public service activities and programs and recommend to the President policies to ensure system-wide replication of successful programs, fund innovative activities, and create an award system for individuals and programs that increase institutional visibility for UP consistent with the promotion of One UP;

Transmit to appropriate agencies for timely legislative, executive, or private sector action such policy studies emanating from UP CUs, research units, extension projects, including those generated from evaluation and impact assessments of public service projects; and

Upon instructions of the President, coordinate the delivery of immediate, focused and strategic technical assistance to various publics that need assistance.

The Padayon UP Public Service Office is the UP President’s action on the resolution of the 2009 Faculty Conference stating that UP must be both a research university and a public service University, with the present crises in the Philippines as frame of reference for its public service activities.

The 2009 Faculty conference specifically recommends the establishment of a system-wide organization to coordinate public service and allocate from 2% to 10% of UP’s income to its public service program. To this end, the Padayon UP Public Service Office shall develop a strategic public service framework and a system for designing, linking, and sustaining public service programs that are relevant, pragmatic, strategic, timely and pioneering.